Patrick devotes $1 million for judicial center design

LOWELL -- The city's long-awaited judicial center will receive a major breakthrough Tuesday, when the Patrick administration releases its fiscal 2013 capital spending plan, according to Lowell's Statehouse delegation.

The spending plan, which will show which projects are being funded this year, is expected to include more than $1 million to design the judicial center. The design phase is expected to begin in Jan. 2013 and take about a year, with construction on the $175 million project starting in the spring of 2014.

State Sen. Eileen Donoghue and Reps. Tom Golden, David Nangle and Kevin Murphy, all Lowell Democrats, said Gov. Deval Patrick's willingness to moving forward with the center's design means the entire project will indeed be funded.

They hailed the development as a major boost to the city's downtown revitalization.

Originally scheduled to be completed by 2013, the judicial has suffered a string of delays over the years due to the state's shaky economic climate. The center is now expected to open in 2016 or early 2017.

The new 245,000-square-foot facility will house five court departments, including superior, district, housing, juvenile, and probate and family courts.

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